Port of LA advances plans for Wilmington waterfront, USS Iowa, cruise terminal
The Port of Los Angeles moved key visitor-serving development plans forward — including awarding contracts for work needed for a new Outer Harbor cruise terminal in San Pedro and a pedestrian bridge link for the Wilmington Waterfront — during its harbor commission meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 6.
The Los Angeles commission also approved adjustments to the plan for a dockside visitors center and park space next to the Battleship Iowa, 250 S. Harbor Blvd., also in San Pedro.
An additional Port of Los Angeles passenger cruise terminal, under discussion now for several years to accommodate the growing industry within the shipping port, is now set to begin preparation and construction at Berths 49-51 in March and be completed in January 2029.
On Tuesday, the harbor commission awarded a contract for the $67.4 million project to Shimmick Construction Company, Inc. The project consists of improvements to support cruise ships and future cruise terminal development, including the installation of Alternative Maritime Power.
The improvements to Berths 49-51 are needed to receive the variety of vessel classes that serve the cruise industry and to meet California Air Resources Board regulations. The work will include installing ship plug-in power infrastructure, according to the commission’s board report.
“The cruise industry continues to grow,” the report said, “and the utilization of this berth will allow the Port of Los Angeles to receive additional calls of larger vessels.”
The project will also construct a new Los Angeles Department of Water and Power industrial station, along with concrete wharf repairs, new utilities — including water lines and sewer connections — and improvements to pedestrian and vehicle access, the board report said.
The work will not impede other areas of the Outer Harbor that are in use, staff told board members, including the S.S. Lane Victory, a World War II Merchant Marine vessel operating dockside as a museum at Berth 52, 2400 Miner St.
Currently, overflow cruise ships are using the Outer Harbor, since the port’s cruise terminal, at Swinford Street and Harbor Boulevard, can get overcrowded with visiting ships. The proposal for a new Outer Harbor terminal also includes possible improvements to the existing terminal to the north, near the Vincent Thomas Bridge.
In another item, the harbor commission approved awarding a contract to construct the Avalon pedestrian bridge and promenade gateway for the Wilmington Waterfront. The bridge will connect to the now-finished portion of the Wilmington Waterfront near Banning’s Landing.
The three-year contract was awarded to Skanska in Riverside for $112.1 million. Grant funding amounting to $57 million is in place and the project will help connect the Wilmington community to the waterfront, port staff said. Included will be a concrete bridge, retaining walls, a 40-foot-tall sundial, hardscape walkways and restrooms.
The work is scheduled to begin in March and be completed in August 2028.
The visitor center and park that will be built alongside the Battleship Iowa, meanwhile, has been on the drawing board for some time but modifications were needed when it was determined that the project will require using pilings.
The visitor center, to be built on the south end abutting the Iowa’s parking lot, has been downscaled from about 34,000 square feet (proposed initially in 2011) to 17,161 square feet. Included will be about 50,000 square feet of adjacent park space.
A veteran’s monument has also been part of the plans.
Jonathan Williams, president and CEO of the Pacific Battleship Center, which oversees the World War II battleship museum, said the popular tourist attraction should break ground on the project in the next couple of months, with a completion date in 2027.
The battleship is also home to the National Museum of the Surface Navy.